House Arrested
by Dixie Dewdrop
Summary: Gibbs is uncertain about leaving Tony home alone at the House of Gibbs when both he and Abby are going out of town.  This is part of my Here and Now series.
1. Suspicion

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs did not often have to leave Washington for his job anymore, which suited him. As he had gotten older, he found he enjoyed the relative peace of staying home, content in his castle. However, his presence had been requested to participate in an interagency conference in Philadelphia for three days. Accepting the invitation, he had decided to round out the work week with a long overdue visit to his father in Stillwater.

Meanwhile, Abby had scheduled a cruise of the Mississippi River with friends for the same week, and she was beyond excited. She had spent the past several days packing and unpacking, and talking excitedly about the trip.

When it dawned on Jethro that Tony would be left to his own devices, home alone and unsupervised in DC, he almost cancelled his trip. There was a reason he kept such a tight leash on his senior field agent, and it had to do with Tony's quest for entertainment. Leaving him to his own devices could prove regrettable.

"Don't be ridiculous, Boss," Tony assured Gibbs at breakfast as he took another bite of his Captain Crunch cereal. "What could possibly go wrong? Baby Girl will be gone, so you can relax. She's the troublemaker around here, as she has evidenced time and time again. I am the wiser, more mature specimen, by far."

Abby scowled across the table. "I most certainly am not more trouble. You are the one who's always up to something."

"Yes you are," Tony contradicted, "so don't be modest. You're a regular Dennis the Menace."

"Gibbs!" Abby called, her voice beginning to rise with annoyance. Tony and Abby knew exactly which buttons to push with each other to cause an electric reaction.

"Stop calling names, Tony," Gibbs admonished.

Abby stuck out her tongue. "I can't wait until the next time you get your butt busted."

Tony grinned and took another bite of cereal, then turned to Gibbs and added, "You know you can trust me, though, Boss. How did I get to be your senior field agent except through your confidence in me, which I have earned time after time?"

Gibbs shook his head and sipped at his coffee. "It's not on the job that is the problem. I simply don't trust you home alone."

"What do you think I'm going to do?" Tony asked, wide eyed.

"Destroy something, no doubt," provided Abby.

"This conversation doesn't concern you," Tony countered. "Stay out of it, or I'm telling about the other day when you were supposed…."

"Nope, I can talk when I want," she immediately interrupted. "If you say anything about me, then I am going to tell what you did last week." She smiled cattily.

"Both of you hush," Gibbs ordered, getting annoyed. "I am tired of the arguing."

The largest anomaly in the House of Gibbs had to do with the handling of damaging information. Tony and Abby regularly knocked themselves out tattling to Gibbs, reporting the most minor of infractions in the hope that the other would get into trouble.

However, if something big, or something really serious occurred guaranteed to warrant really rough consequences from Jethro, they were tight lipped and feigned ignorance of the crime, protecting each other fiercely.

They were so loyal to one another, in fact, that Jethro had finally made a rule that if he found one of them had covered up something serious the other had done, he'd mete out the same punishment to both. Even with that mandate, they stuck together, and one whole part of him was actually proud of them for that.

He constantly drilled into them their responsibility of protecting the other. Obviously, they had listened. It did make it very difficult to get to the bottom of things at times, though.

He turned to Abby and suggested, "You're through with breakfast, so why don't you go start on your chores?" It was Saturday, so taking care of assigned duties early meant an afternoon and evening which could be devoted to play and fun.

Abby nodded agreeably and took her dishes to the sink, then headed upstairs.

Gibbs moved the cereal box away from Tony, who protested immediately and tried to grab it back, "Boss, I was finding the ten differences between those two pictures on the box, and I still have four more!"

"You just lost. I want you paying attention to me." Jethro moved the box further out of reach.

Tony sighed in resignation and looked at his boss. "Can I play again after you tell me what you want to tell me?"

Gibbs scowled and responded irritably, "I am losing patience, Anthony."

Tony straightened up then, not willing to poke the bear any further. He met his boss's gaze. "Yes sir, then, I am listening."

Gibbs took another swallow of coffee. "No parties- you are not hosting any type of gathering of any sort for any reason while I am gone."

Trying to appear shocked, Tony responded, "I wouldn't dream of it!"

"Furthermore, you are not staying out all night, any night I am gone. You know what time you had better have your butt home."

"How will you know?" Tony questioned, his mind racing to possible answers.

"I'll know," Gibbs pronounced with the tone that promised dire consequences.

Tony squirmed a bit then. Gibbs did have a way of knowing things that he appeared to have divined from somewhere, some place only he knew, especially when those things involved something Tony had done.

"This house had better look the same way as it does now when I return."

"Got it-"

"If I get one phone call or one complaint while I am in Pennsylvania, you will regret it when I return."

"Understood-" Tony smiled then, attempting to disarm his boss. "I will be an angel."

Gibbs eyed him suspiciously for several seconds, but nodded. "All right, that's what I wanted to say. Now get onto your roster of chores if you want to have a night out later."

Tony jumped up and started filling the dishwasher, humming softly to himself. Gibbs watched him as he worked, trying to decide if he should say more about Tony's home alone activities. He pinched the bridge of his nose and elected to drop the subject for the time being. Tony appeared ready to approach the week maturely, and he needed to trust him and give him a chance to prove himself.


	2. While the Cat's Away

Jethro and Abby left fairly early Sunday morning. Jethro was dropping her off at her best friend's before he drove himself to Pennsylvania. Tony had appeared attentive and cooperative as Gibbs gave him last minute instructions, so once on the road, Gibbs began to relax. The conference was to be attended by several acquaintances, and it would be good to catch up with them. Also, a visit to his dad was long overdue, and he welcomed the opportunity to spend some time with Jack.

As he drove Gibbs reviewed Abby's itinerary in his mind. She would get home a half day after he did. His thoughts turned to Tony then, and he recalled how serious Tony had appeared to be the past couple of days as the trip drew nearer. Maybe he was maturing after all.

Sunday night two of Tony's best friends and their dates joined Tony and Amber, his latest girlfriend, at the House of Gibbs. The three couples stayed together until nearly two in the morning, then four of them left Tony and Amber alone. Amber didn't make her departure until the following morning when Tony headed out to NCIS.

With Gibbs away, he was in charge of the team. One of Tony's character strengths was his leadership quality, which he took seriously. By lunch he had worked the team so hard that they had solved a case that had just been assigned them just that morning. Tony was pleased. The afternoon progressed smoothly, and when Gibbs called at three to check on the team, his pride in Tony's management was evident.

Monday night Tony hosted a group of friends at the House of Gibbs who were male, rowdy, and fun loving. They cooked out and stayed up late watching sports on ESPN. Tony made it to bed after two, and slept a few hours before heading to NCIS.

The days began to blur. Though Tony kept his work life separate from his private life, he was still not at his best at work. He definitely began to look tired and sleep deprived. Thursday afternoon Ducky demanded his presence in autopsy over a personal matter. Tony had avoided the good doctor as much as he could during the week, knowing that Ducky would not hesitate to report any concerns to Gibbs. This invitation was not one he could decline, however. Ducky was already suspicious.

Tony bounced into Autopsy, trying his best to appear sunny and well rested, not exhausted because he had become a delightful nightly party host. Ducky would feel it his duty to alert Jethro should he suspect something amiss, which would then lead to Gibbs confronting Tony.

When Ducky saw him he turned to his assistant, Jimmy Palmer. "Mr. Palmer, be so good as to go down and check on the progress Abby's substitute has made on those last blood samples." Seeing Tony standing there, Jimmy nodded and left the two alone.

Ducky turned and regarded Tony, staring so long that Tony finally laughed nervously. "Dr. Mallard, are you ok?"

"I'm just fine, Anthony, but you are not." The good doctor removed his glasses and rubbed them on his sleeve before putting them back on his face.

Tony tried to look shocked at the pronouncement. "Whatever do you mean? I feel fantastic!"

Ducky raised his eyebrows, then pointed towards the chair by his desk. "Sit down right now, Anthony."

Tony started to argue, then changed his mind and sat down. Ducky perched on the edge of the desk and regarded him.

"You had better watch yourself. This running around with no sleep is taking its toll on you."

"Ducky, I have been sleeping like a baby every single night. I have no idea what you mean."

"No, that is an obvious exaggeration. You have been staying up, or out, late every night since Jethro has been gone."

Tony decided to not respond.

"We both know that you would not be up to any of these nocturnal activities were he here," Dr. Mallard continued.

Tony tried to appear confused, and looked at Ducky quizzically.

"I am not falling for that look, Anthony. Whether Jehtro is here or not, you always perform your job superbly. However, away from the agency, it is indisputable that you are far calmer and better behaved when Jethro keeps you in his radar. I called you down here to warn you. If I don't see an improvement in your general appearance quickly, meaning you are not socializing until the early morning hours, I have every intention of notifying Jethro."

There it was, the ultimate threat, dangling the potential response of the big gun over Tony's head.

Tony squared his shoulders and stood. "I understand, Ducky. I'll take care of it."

With that, he turned and left, and for the remainder of the afternoon he pledged to himself that he would heed the warning. Then he spent some time mentally evaluating whether anything he had done could actually be proved to Jethro. He had completely dismissed Ducky's warning by the time Amber called, and managed to sound busy and doing what he was supposed to be doing when his boss made his daily call.

That night he didn't go home at all, but went straight from work to Amber's.

Friday night the house of Gibbs was lit up like a Christmas decoration, and there were people in every room. Tony was the perfect party host, entertaining and welcoming, and the festivities continued into the wee hours of Saturday morning. The guests spilled out into the backyard, and just enjoyed the thrill of a great party. Several couples elected to stay and spend the night, having consumed a little too much to allow safe driving conditions. Tony himself was feeling no pain, and he was out the minute his head touched the pillow.

He woke at two in the afternoon on Saturday with a splitting headache and feeling nauseous. He untangled himself from the sheets and from Amber, who mumbled a bit in her sleep as he edged off of the bed. Quickly pulling on a pair of jeans he made his way downstairs, stepping over pallets and sleeping party guests. He peeped outside the front door and noted the number of cars on the street. It was practically a parking lot for Tony's guests.

Taking a long swallow of water he looked around. The entire residence resembled a tornado site, and he knew it would take hours of manpower to get the house into shape. Running his hand through his hair he mentally kicked himself. He had less than twenty four hours before Gibbs would walk back through the door.

With that thought, Tony was suddenly galvanized. He mentally made a list of what had to occur before his boss made it back. It took less than a half hour to get rid of all of the guests and send them on their way. Amber begged to stay after the others and help but Tony refused, making the first mature decision he had made concerning the home front all week. She would do nothing but distract him, and that was the last thing that he needed. So, he insisted that she leave when the others did.

It took the rest of the afternoon and then until right after midnight to put the house back to rights. Tony's head throbbed throughout, and his nausea didn't slow for several hours. Regarding himself in the mirror after one of his trips to the bathroom he realized he was definitely the worse for wear. If Ducky could see him now he would summon Jethro immediately. Nevertheless, he tended to business, and finally, finally, the house looked the way it should have.


	3. Caught

Gibbs returned after lunch the next day and was pleasantly surprised to find the house in order. Nothing was broken or amiss, and the house was practically spotless. Tony was in the backyard, shooting hoops, and he managed to greet his boss warmly and respond innocently to all queries about the week. Relieved, Jethro patted him on the back. Abby joined them by supper, having ridden home with a friend. Luckily, she was excited over the cruise, so chattered non-stop until bedtime. Tony was grateful, as it took the focus off of him.

Jethro, meanwhile, was incredibly pleased to see that Tony had acted maturely in his absence. According to the young man, he had come home straight from NCIS every afternoon except Friday, when he and Amber had gone out for the evening. He had made it a point to assure Jethro that even then he had been back in residence by eleven.

Falling onto the bed later that night Tony congratulated himself. He had pulled off the week of fun with Jethro none the wiser.

When Jethro reviewed the past work week when he got to NCIS the next day he was yet more impressed. Tony had done a wonderful job, and he told him he was proud, which delighted the young man.

It wasn't until Tuesday that a crack in the home alone story developed. Gibbs and Tony were in autopsy when Ducky suddenly stopped mid sentence and addressed the younger man. "You look much better now than you did this time last week, rested."

Gibbs immediately turned to regard his protégé, and Tony hastily covered, "I had a hard time getting to sleep one night, Boss." With that he turned pleading eyes to the good doctor, who, feeling sorry for him, didn't elaborate and changed the conversation to focus on the body on his autopsy table.

However, the truth always comes out.

The three of them made it home early that same afternoon. Tony was in charge of cooking supper that night, and Gibbs went to work in the yard. Abby had run to the mall, and upon her return, noticed that their next door neighbor had come to speak to Gibbs. The conversation appeared to go back and forth, with Gibbs asking questions and the neighbor answering them. She joined the two at once, guessing that something was hinky, and as soon as she ascertained the subject of the conversation, she excused herself and ran in the house to warn Tony.

He had the meal finished and ready to be served later, so had gone to the living room and cut on the television. That's where Abby found him, and she quickly blurted out that the neighbor and Gibbs were in deep conversation, with him as the one and only topic. Tony jumped up from the sofa and raced to the window, then paled when he saw how intently his boss was nodding at the neighbor's words.

He threw himself back onto the sofa.

Abby advised, "I don't know what exactly you did, but you had better be thinking of a way to get out of it- something that will stand up to a Gibbs interrogation. Otherwise, you are doomed."

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!" came the panicked response.

Abby regarded him carefully. "Tony, just how many nights did you have people over?"

He looked at her miserably. "All but one, Baby Girl-"

Both sat silently a couple of minutes, trying to form a battle plan capable of withstanding an assault by Gibbs.

Finally Abby spoke thoughtfully, "Whatever you do, don't outright lie. You know he'll tear you out of the frame for that. Just try to evade the questions any way you can."

Tony nodded in agreement, trying to conjure up a defense.

Abby continued, suddenly adopting a cheerful tone. "He might not even be talking about you out there anyway. It might be something else entirely. I mean it might be about someone else entirely."

Tony gave her a grateful smile in response.

Before they could talk further they heard Gibbs make his way back into the house. Abby jumped off of the sofa and called out, "Time to eat, Gibbs!"

Other than normal mealtime conversation, nothing was brought up during supper. Tony tried to relax, but couldn't help worrying. Gibbs, for his part, didn't appear to be upset. He hadn't missed noticing Abby's quick exit from outside, and knew she had come in to tip off Tony that the neighbor was acting as informant.

Once the meal was finished Gibbs turned to Abby and ordered, "Clean up in here, Abbs."

That brought forth a protest as Abby whined loudly, "It's not my turn, and it's not fair, either. It's Tony's turn to clean up the kitchen!"

There was no verbal response, but Gibb leveled a glare at her. She sighed, stood up reluctantly, and began grabbing dishes. Tony started to inch out of his chair to escape, but Gibbs saw him and commanded quietly, "Living room, Anthony- right now-"

Tony didn't bother to pretend that he didn't understand. Soundlessly he left the kitchen and headed back to the living room, taking his previously occupied seat on the sofa. Carrying a cup of coffee, Gibbs joined him, sitting down in the armchair across from Tony before he spoke.

"I want to talk to you."

Tony nodded, and waited for his boss to continue.

"Tell me about this past week." Gibbs studied him over the rim of his coffee cup as he sipped.

"I already told you about it, Boss, it was fine."

"So nothing out of the ordinary happened?" Jethro prompted.

Tony knew he should just go ahead and confess, but he still hoped Jethro didn't really know anything of substance.

"No, no, I went to work and came home and that was about it." Tony added a smile to the words, hoping to disarm his boss.

"That's really interesting. So nothing happened Monday night, or Tuesday night, or any night at all?" Jethro leaned forward and looked at Tony expectantly.

Tony shook his head rather than speak.

Jethro's voice changed to the one Tony and Abby privately likened to the distinct warning of a rattlesnake about to attack. "Let me ask this once again, Tony, and I had better get the truth for my answer this time. Otherwise, you are going to be incomprehensibly miserable by the time this conversation concludes."


	4. Acceptance

Wisely, Tony heeded the warning and offered, "I did invite some friends over a couple of times. Does that count?"

Jethro raised his eyebrows and Tony licked his lip nervously.

"They were friends, Boss, not uhm… not strangers or anyone like that."

Gibbs clarified, "Were you given the go ahead to invite anyone over while I was gone?"

"No, not exactly, but actually, you never said to not invite someone over."

Jethro looked at him incredulously. "What?"

"You didn't say not to do that," Tony attempted to defend himself.

Noting that Tony was already grasping at straws, Jethro pinched the bridge of his nose. "Tell me about Friday."

Recalling the party and the party guests, then the clean up afterwards, Tony sucked in a breath. It was one thing to admit to having the occasional friend over. It was yet another to admit a party had been staged which lasted into the wee, wee hours.

"I'm waiting, and not patiently-" Jethro prompted, his voice beginning to rise and take on a sharp edge.

"I don't know, Boss." Tony tried to appear helpful but genuinely puzzled.

Gibbs looked at him squarely. "Look at me." When Tony obeyed, he continued, "Is that the truth, Anthony?"

That caused the young man to capitulate immediately, which was what Gibbs had anticipated. He had several years devoted to parenting the boy his own way. Tony might distort the truth, but he would never deliberately lie to his mentor when Jethro asked him something directly.

Tony met his gaze, unflinching, though his stomach was churning. "No , no sir it is not."

He regarded his boss with a tragic expression, but Gibbs steeled himself to remain firm. He didn't say anything for almost a full minute, which was torture to Tony.

"How many people were here Friday?" Gibbs questioned.

Tony's stomach knotted but he answered, "A bunch, Boss, and I don't exactly know how many. That is the truth."

Jethro regarded him a couple of seconds, then held out his hand, palm out. Recognizing the gesture, Tony began to protest, "No, please, I am really sorry, and…."

Gibbs interrupted firmly, "Close your mouth. I absolutely do not want you to speak."

Tony shook his head. Gibbs raised an eyebrow, and Tony reached into the pocket of his jeans and took out his car keys, which he placed in his boss's hand. "Boss, how long…."

Jethro interrupted him again. "I am positive that I told you to get quiet."

At that, Tony puffed his lip into a pout but stayed silent.

Jethro stood up and slid Tony's keys into his own pocket, then motioned once again with his hand. Tony reacted with a huff but reached over to the side table and grabbed his phone, then handed it wordlessly to Gibbs. Jethro deposited that into his pocket, as well.

Finally he turned to Tony and ordered, "Look right at me, Anthony." Tony did, and Jethro announced, "Ok, you will not be in possession of either of those items for quite some time, so go ahead and reconcile yourself to no communication and no transportation either. Furthermore, with the exception of the time spent at NCIS, you will not be leaving this house to go anywhere or to do anything for the same duration of time."

Tony looked at him miserably.

"To say I am disappointed in you is an understatement. I really thought I could put some faith into you this time, and believe that you could act maturely when given the chance to do so. I won't make that mistake again. I can not believe that you deliberately went against not only my instructions, but also ignored the normal rules you have been given."

That made an impression, and Tony flinched as though he had been slapped. He desperately craved his boss's approval, and tried hard to make him proud.

Looking at Tony's stricken face Gibbs softened his tone a bit. "Are you clear, Anthony, on what you are doing without- what you have lost- for the next few weeks?"

Tony nodded, and Gibbs leaned down and tapped him under the chin. "Do you have anything to say? I'm permitting you to talk now."

"How long is quite some time?" Tony questioned, steeling himself. He knew his week of throwing caution to the wind ranked pretty high on his boss's lists of unacceptable acts.

"Four weeks-" was the immediate reply, and Tony couldn't help but groan.

"That is going to kill me, Boss! Please, please, please rethink the calculation. Don't make me stay home all that time. You can give me extra chores or some other punishment instead."

"I don't need an alternate punishment. I'm satisfied with the one I just gave you," Jethro said firmly.

Tony threw his head back against the sofa cushion and closed his eyes. Along with this bad news, he now had a throbbing headache.

Gibbs spoke again. "That's effective immediately. Now, again, are we clear?"

Tony nodded, but Gibbs spoke sharply, "Verbal reply, Son-"

Tony opened his eyes and regarded his boss sadly, "Yes sir, I understand- four weeks of nothingness- no phone, no friends, no females, no car, and no fun. I think it's pretty clear."

Abby interrupted then, bounding in through the kitchen. "Gibbs, I finished the kitchen and it looks good if I do say so myself."

He smiled in reply and watched as she flopped down on the sofa by Tony. "Ok, well I'm heading to the basement."

The two watched him depart. Once he was out of sight Abby put her arm around Tony and hugged him to her. "Ok, tell me all about it. I could hear bits and pieces only." When he didn't immediately answer she continued, sympathetically, "He house arrested you, didn't he?"

Tony had to grin then, despite the fact that his day was ruined. He and Abby never credited Gibbs with restricting one of them, but rather with house arresting, owing to the assurance they had that he would make sure they were locked up for the duration.

"Yep, I'm house arrested for a solid month," Tony answered sadly.

Abby hugged him. "Well, just so you know, I didn't tattle on you this time."

He smiled in reply, "Thanks, Baby Girl, that is good to know."

"Well," she said, looking around the room. "Let's make lemons out of lemonade."

Tony laughed, and brightened. "Hey, you know what, though? He said no phone, no car, and no going anywhere. He didn't take away the television. There is some hope, after all!" Tony gleefully grabbed the remote and powered on the set. "All I have to do to stay sane is not get into any more trouble for the next four weeks so he doesn't take the television away, too."

Gibbs, who hadn't made it to the basement yet, had witnessed most of the scene from the doorway. He shook his head slightly and marveled at the bond between the two. They were flipping quickly through the viewing selections and laughing as the screen caps flew past.

Once again he felt gratitude flood him as he watched his family.


End file.
